


Found

by Meowkies



Category: Free!
Genre: And titles, Character Death, Free! Eternal Suffering, Free! Eternal Summer, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Random OC With barely any importance I swear, i just wanted to write a really mean and sad fanfic, loads of fun suffering, makoharu - Freeform, with a bad plot lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-09-15 08:50:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9227663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meowkies/pseuds/Meowkies
Summary: The day zombies begin to spread across Japan, Makoto finds himself alone in his home unable to do anything but hide while the rest of Iwatobi outside turns to a hell overrun by man-eating creatures. For the next month or so, he searches desperately for anyone who isn't out for his flesh. By chance, he comes across his best friend, Haruka, and the two of them set of to find their family and friends.





	1. The Beginning of The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He froze and listened quietly for any noises at all. He began to shift around when he heard nothing and managed to stand up with his gun in his hand before he froze again.
> 
> He could hear footsteps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right this is my first series so it's not going to be the best, and it might have spelling mistakes despite my many times of checking over it, but please enjoy! Basically I just wanted to put the lighthearted and happy (yet sometimes a little bit angsty) characters of Free! in a life or death situation where you can slip up and die very quickly; it gives some interesting scenarios! And I'd also like to mention that there might be a few mistakes in the plot of my story so until I've checked it over, please do point out the things I've done wrong! Thanks very much!

Makoto was at his house when it all began. No one else was home since his father was at work, his mother had just dropped off the twins at school and was doing some shopping; Makoto was left with the house to himself because now that his exams were finished, he had a couple of days off before he had to go to school. It was almost time for the Autumn winds to come around and blow the auburn leaves off the trees leaving them naked and cold. People would play in the leaves and do what they normally would around this time of year. But now everything had changed.

It was on the TV when Makoto first heard about it. No one really knew what was going on at first; a news report showed one of the smaller hospitals in the town in a panic as doctors and nurses ran around behind the news reporter. She explained a patient having to be strapped to the hospital bed after showing strange behaviour and attempting to bite one of the nurses and successfully biting another. After she talked on for a while, a shout was heard and the camera swiftly turned to face a corridor were a single mad-looking man ran down the hallway and tackled the cameraman down; the broadcast cut off after that.

The Internet blew up instantly as people claimed this and that. No one knew whether the video was fake or not and news articles of the hospital being bordered up appeared. Everyone in the hospital was now acting like that madman caught on camera, what's worse was that they were escaping from the hospital. It was contagious and that was when people started to get scared. It was only a few hours ago the news report was aired on TV and Makoto was starting to wonder where his parents were.

The street outside was full of people and Makoto was afraid to go outside to look himself so he resorted to peering out the blinds. He wished he hadn't.

People ran down the paths of the street, mad looks on their faces as they violently bit people's arms, legs, necks, anything that they could. They devoured people; men, women and even little children were tore apart and Makoto was frozen, just watching. People were dying right in front of his house and he dearly hoped with every fibre of his being that this was all just a dream. But it felt too real, sounded too real. The screams of everyone outside echoed in his head and Makoto quickly made his way downstairs from his bedroom and hid in a small cupboard that was under his stairs.

He felt like a coward.

His utter fear made him shake and he was afraid that any minute one of those mad looking things would come and tear his door open and dig it's teeth into his flesh like he was some kind of food. Thinking about it made him want to throw up, but the small cupboard under the stairs was small and tight and smelt of dust so the smell of vomit wouldn't help at all.

He had no idea how long he spent in there, worrying about his family, the rest of the swim team and whether or not he would be killed. He'd heard groans outside his house and banging on his door more times than he could count. He heard screams, fires burning, explosions and yells, all of them making him flinch no more than the one before it.

A few days past and Makoto's throat was dry and sore. He hadn't drank or eaten and needed something desperately. He couldn't hear anything outside so after taking multiple deep breaths and hesitating many times, he finally forced his hand to open the door.

What greeted him was nothing different; his house's hallway still looked it's normal self, but everything was too quiet. The twins weren't there to brighten up the house with their laughter and Makoto felt uneasy as he edged out of the small space underneath the stairs. He was afraid to call out but he tried to quietly shout the names of his brother, sister or his parents.

No one answered.

He finally closed the door behind him and made his way to the kitchen where he once again found no one there. He felt his heart drop when he saw the door to the back garden smashed to bits as it barely hung on it's hinges. The fence was also mostly burnt leaving Makoto a good view of the next few houses. They were in tatters but he could see figures sluggishly crawling around through the windows. He only felt his fear grow but tried to ignore them. The quite tenseness of the house was beginning to swallow him and he felt he needed a weapon to feel a tad safer. Opening a cupboard, he grabbed one of the knives and gazed at it intently.

He'd never used a knife to do anything but chop food. He'd never harmed anything with a knife and was afraid to; he just wasn't that type of person but now here he was, ready to attack if anything should happen. He just wanted his little brother and sister, Ren and Ran, to jump out and laugh 'It's just a joke!' Then his parents would ruffle his hair and he'd laugh along with them, but he hadn't seen them in days...

Just as that thought passed through his mind, he heard footsteps behind him. His heart leaped and a part of him almost jumped for joy at the thought of it being another person. He quickly turned around to look.

It wasn't another 'person.'

Makoto didn't have much time to look at the figure's features before it jumped towards him and knocked him back against the kitchen counters. It's face was pale and it's eyes were wide and red. Hairs sprouted from its head as if it had slowly lost them one by one and was now left with nothing but puffs of wispy fluff. Torn clothes donned it's body stained with blood and dirt. Makoto could barely react as it opened it's mouth wide, ready to bite at his paling skin. He just managed to hold it back with his arms as it thrashed around, throwing it's bloody saliva onto Makoto's face.

It was overpowering him and soon he was shoved to the floor and tackled down by it again. It was clawing and trying to bite him rapidly, letting out moaning and gurgling noise as it did. Makoto's limbs felt weak and he felt like giving in to it's strength. Then he remembered watching what these things could do through the blinds of his window. They tore people apart like they were nothing, bit into their flesh and induced awful torture as they ripped people apart like savages. They were inhumane.

Suddenly, with a boost of bravery and determination to not end up like the people he'd seen outside his home, he gripped the knife still held tightly in his hand and lifted it up. He plunged it deep into the man's skull and felt as the deep, red blood oozed out from around the knife and onto Makoto's hands and face. The man started to go limp and his gurgles and dry heaves of breath slowed to stop. His clawed hands when limp and instantly Makoto shoved the corpse away from him and shuffled backwards with a horrified expression on his face until his back hit the cabinets behind him.

He'd just killed that thing.

He looked at the gooey blood on his hands and felt some of it on his cheeks too. He felt bile rise at the back of his throat and he didn't resist as he vomited right next to the body until there was nothing left but painful heaves of air. Tears mixed with the blood on his cheeks and dripped down to the floor. He tried to keep his whimpers and cries quiet as he came to grips with the fact he'd just killed something. He leant his head back against the cabinets again and just wished and wished that he would wake up. Why couldn't he just wake up!?

He wasn't going to wake up.

After a while, the tears dried up and the blood on his hands and face turned crusty. Makoto felt light headed like he would pass out any second. Throwing up after eating nothing for days left his stomach even emptier than before and if he wanted to remain in his state of consciousness he had to eat quickly. Not only that, but he had to get out of his house. Though traumatised, he wasn't stupid and he wanted to find someone, anyone. He knew he had to gather things like food and water before he left.

He grabbed a bag hanging off of one of the chairs and emptied as much as the cupboards in his house as he could. He jammed in cereal bars and biscuits from the cupboards and grabbed bottles of water from the fridge. He grabbed another knife and braved leaving the kitchen to go upstairs where he knew his father kept a gun just in case of emergency. He was relieved when he found every room empty and took the gun and some ammo from the far back of his parent's cupboard. When he got to his room, he only took things he knew he would need. Roughly opening his wardrobe, he threw clothes on the floor of his bedroom and picked out a black jacket with a hood to go over the green and white striped shirt he was wearing.

Once done with that, he walked over to his bedside desk and picked up a photo that lay on it. It was a picture of him and his family. Haruka had visited that day and the twins wanted a family picture with him in it since they were set on calling him their big brother too. The picture would've made Makoto smile, but it was hard to after what just happened. He dug the picture deep into his bag and went to leave. He was going to find them, his family and Haruka.

He arrived at the door of his house and looked back once more. He caught a glimpse of the body of the man he'd killed in his kitchen and almost wanted to throw up again, but he held it in and quickly looked away. He opened the door slowly and quietly, making sure none of those things were there, waiting to feast on him.

With his goal set in his mind, he left his house behind and walked down the ruined and burnt streets.

\---

Makoto had no idea how long he'd been wandering around the city in search of someone he knew. It'd been days, maybe weeks and perhaps even a month but he had no idea; he lost his sense of time a long time ago. A lot of things had changed. The whole place that used to be the quiet sea town of Iwatobi was now reduced to tatters and was nothing but broken, beaten and rotting buildings full of flesh eating creatures. Was he even in Iwatobi anymore? He almost couldn't tell... The whole threat had been contained to Japan and no one was allowed out. No one was allowed in either unless they were sent specially by the government.

People were sent in to kill the things they were now calling 'zombies' but all the people sent in never came out as they were overpowered and devoured. Makoto had seen them die and he was far too afraid to stop it from happening. Every time he saw the pale green creatures he felt his body freeze and his heart leap and race. He'd got by through only killing about four but each bullet or knife that plunged into the zombies' skulls made his skin crawl and made him unable to sleep for what felt like days. He could never get over how killing them made him feel and he just about threw up each time he was finished killing them.

Some part of him was glad he wasn't going numb to that because it meant he still had his humanity left. But the thing he had gone numb to was seeing the dead bodies that were scattered along the roads with their limbs torn off or their guts strewn in front of them. Makoto now barely felt sick from looking at them and just passed them by hoping they wouldn't spring up and attack him. He hated it.

Makoto hadn't found any living people yet, but he had found many useful items. He'd found more ammo for the small gun he had and a leather jacket for the bitter coldness that was beginning to set in as the seasons changed. He'd also found a deep green hat for his head that left his hair sticking out in some places but kept him warm overall. He'd found a dark blue hat too which only reminded him of Haruka who could still be out there, or even dead. He was still determined to find him and once he did, he'd give him the hat and banish any thoughts of him being dead at all. He at least had that objective along with finding his family. It was oddly comforting.

\---

Makoto was trailing along a tattered and dusty path, heading towards a building that looked to once be a pharmacy. If it was still untouched from other people then he could loot everything there instead. It'd be useful to have medical supplies in case he or anyone he found was injured. He held his gun at the ready―something he'd become accustomed to when entering a building and something he wished he hadn't―and he nudged the door slowly open with his foot.

It creaked loudly and Makoto winced waiting for the hellish sound to be over. The last time a door had creaked, it attracted a few zombies that resulted in Makoto wasting some bullets and using others to shoot two zombies dead in his haste to escape. He knew he had to kill to survive now but it just wasn't right when he thought that the zombies used to be people with functioning lives like him.

He took a small and quiet sigh of relief when he heard no shuffling and groans coming from around him or from inside the building. The room he entered was dark because the windows outside were covered with a thick layer of dust that blocked all the light from coming in. The desk was ruined and the computer, that should've been on, it lay smashed and left on the creaky wooden floor. Papers were scattered everywhere and the door, to what looked to be a storage room, behind the desk was wide open.

Makoto lowered his gun down slightly as he crept over the floor as quietly as he could, but the floor letting out loud groans didn't help him at all. He almost reached the section of the floor right next to the next where the computer lay helpless and dead before the floor collapsed from under his feet and Makoto was sent tumbling down into a small ditch below the floor. It wasn't that deep but he managed to scrape his head on the jagged bits of wood that now stuck out from the broken apart floor.

The pain didn't bother him as much as it normally would as he is more bothered about how loud it was. He froze and listened quietly for any noises at all. He began to shift around when he heard nothing and managed to stand up with his gun in his hand before he froze again.

He can hear footsteps.

He felt fear rooted deeply in his chest and his heartbeat picks up. His brain is running a mile a minute processing thoughts before moving onto the next. Was he going to die? The only way out would be the storage room but who know what's in there... Is a zombie really going to kill me? The thoughts wouldn't stop; those types of questions always appeared when he found himself in danger. His head was now throbbing and thoughts overwhelmed his brain and blood trickled down his head from the cut he'd stupidly gained. The footsteps grew closer and closer and Makoto grew more and more tense as he held up his gun, ready to shoot at whatever came through the door.

A figure appeared in the doorway, stood upright and not swaying from side to side or hobbling around like a zombie. Makoto couldn't see their face from where he was stood but he clearly wasn't a zombie, he still didn't lower his gun though.

"Makoto?" He recognised the voice instantly and his lowered his hands to his sides as a shocked expression formed itself on his face. The figure jumped down into the pit that Makoto had fallen into and he could finally see the figure's face. Blue eyes, dark, matted hair; it was Haruka.

"Haru?" He slowly repeated back and he felt relief flood his body as well as an overwhelming happiness. He couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face and he completely forgot about staying quiet and cautious as he leapt forward and tackled his friend in a hug. He hadn't seen him in months and he couldn't help but do it; he even started to feel tears in his eyes at seeing another human who wasn't undead!

"Haru! You're alive!" He breathed out a shaky sigh as he held Haruka tighter to him as if he was afraid he'd just disappear or he'd wake up in his old sleeping bag he'd found like he had many times before. "Thank god..." He slowly felt warm arms hug him back tightly and Makoto just wanted the moment to last forever. He'd found someone; he'd found Haruka...

After a while, they pulled away and got to look at each other's faces. Makoto couldn't stop grinning and although Haruka didn't smile, Makoto could tell he was just as relieved. He was also glad to see Haruka looked well. He'd gotten thinner with the shortage of food but that was expected, but he didn't look to be injured or bitten. He was wearing a light blue, zip up, hoodie with a dark grey shirt underneath. A blue scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck, high enough to cover his mouth from the harsh cold.

"I'm so glad I found you, it feels like years since I've seen someone.." Makoto sighed and wiped his eyes, afraid he might cry out of pure happiness. Haruka nodded.

"Me too, I thought everyone here had died," he replied, "I found some people who gathered and made a group but I haven't found anyone I know," he explained.

"You haven't seen my family then..?" Makoto's expression saddened, he hadn't seen them in so long and he was afraid he'd forget what their voices sounded like. Haruka shook his head with an apologetic expression.

Makoto sighed and looked down, he put his gun away and quickly remembered he'd injured himself. His head span and he put a hand to his forehead and pulled it away again to reveal blood lacing his fingers. Haruka's eyes widened slightly.

"Are you okay? Did you injure your head?" He asked in a slightly panicked tone, steadily helping Makoto keep himself stood up as he swayed slightly.

"Aha, I fell through the floor into this ditch." Makoto laughed as if it was a stupid mistake he'd made. "I guess I cut my head on some of the wood." Haruka guided him down to sit on the floor as not to over exert himself anymore. Haruka swung the bag he had on his back to the front of him and rooted through it quickly.

"I've got bandages," Haruka said, pulling out a tattered, but still useful, roll of bandaged out of his bag; they'd yellowed with age. Makoto pulled off his hat and let his friend wrap the bandages carefully around his head.

"Thanks, Haru-Chan." He smiled once he was done and put the hat back on his head. Haruka avoided his gaze and pouted slightly.

"Drop the Chan," he simply replied though it only served to make Makoto smile brightly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this happy. It was almost as if all his nervousness and tenseness had disappeared when Haruka muttered that one sentence as if they weren't in this situation. It was like they were back at school again with the rest of the swim team. The two sat in blissful silence for a while before Makoto quickly remembered something and he dug through his bag and pulled out the blue hat he'd found a while ago. It was slightly dusty but the wool still felt as warm as ever. He held it out to Haruka.

"Here." He smiled. "I found it a while back along with my hat, and I thought it'd suit you, it certainly matches your scarf." Haruka took the hat out his hands and gazed it; Makoto could see the faintest smile grace his lips. He pulled the hat over his head, his fringe still covering the front of his face.

"Thanks," he replied. Makoto stood up and pulled his bag back over his arms to rest on his back again.

"I think we should get somewhere safer, we've probably, attracted too many zombies and we don't want to be stuck here." He held out his hand for Haruka to grab, which he did and Makoto pulled him up. "We still need to find more people. I need to find my family too." Makoto gazed up into his friend's ocean blue eyes. "So, will you help me Haru?" Makoto smiled with resolve. Now he had his best friend with him he felt like he could find everyone else. Now that he'd finally found someone in the dead town, he felt hope and felt he could find everyone else with Haruka's help. Haruka nodded and with that the two of them set off with their objective in mind.  
\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right so, I'm planning for these chapters to be quite long which means they will takes a while to write and get out! But although there will be gaps in between posting these chapters, I still appreciate the feedback and criticism I can use to improve! Thanks very much!
> 
> And to give a bit of background so everyone knows what the situation is and what has happened here!
> 
> And unknown infection has broken out in a local hospital in Iwatobi, this of course being a zombie infection spread through biting or any scratches caused by the zombies; any way for a zombie to get the virus into someone's bloodstream. The infection has spread quickly all across Japan as the hospital cannot keep it contained. Japan is left infected as the rest of the world strips it of its ways out of the country; of course the other countries and their leaders try to send help but are to scared to start helping the people of Japan properly because of the risk of the infection spreading to other countries. Therefore Japan is left to run in panic as its people die. Pretty dull really! But eventually the other countries and their leaders will help!
> 
> TLDR: Japan is pretty much fucked
> 
> With that long paragraph of text out the way, I'll see you next time I post!


	2. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the pair made their way to the door, wary of the rustles of bushes around them, when they tried to push it open, no matter how hard they tried it wouldn't budge. It was as if there was something barring it from the other side and that only sparked more hope. 
> 
> It meant someone could be in there

The sky began to get dark more and more as it got later into the day and while the cover of night was good for getting by without being seen, it was also when zombies became more active and more crowded the streets. With the many people dying and turning, the number of zombies was more than double the amount of humans left. Whenever it was time to get sleep, Makoto normally tried to find whatever empty building available that was safe enough the sleep in without zombies encroaching their way in. He'd been successful on keeping safe so far but he'd rather be safe in his own warm bed than sleeping against a cold stone wall with a blanket only just big enough to cover him while zombies crawled outside. He could never get used to it and it often took him quite a while to fall asleep.

Makoto suggested that he and Haruka find a place to stay for the night and then they could talk about what they'd done. Creeping around when the sun was just setting and the sky was getting darker was a thing that needed to be done in complete silence and now that Makoto had finally found someone living and breathing, he didn't want to risk anything happening that could possibly split them up. At the minute, he had no idea where they were, so sneaking around till they found a suitable place to sleep was their only option.

It took a while of quietly stepping over broken glass, bits of crumbled buildings and edging their way past slow-crawling zombies but finally they found themselves in an empty storage room of an old, now unrecognisable convenience store. The whole city was barely recognisable now and Makoto could only recognise a few places that were still in good enough shape to have some spottable features; the rest was left in ruin. Though sometimes, just the area was easy to remember with how it's broken roads were shaped and how the dying nature was set out. Makoto could never tell whether he should feel happy that he'd found somewhere he knew, or sad that it will never be the same again.

The storage room they sat in was dusty and the shelves was empty and some were overturned and knocked over. This place had already been rummaged for its supplies like food or water. The pale moonlight was seeping in through a small window and as peaceful as it was, it also let in the groans and moans of the creatures outside. Haruka and Makoto sat on the floor behind the locked and barred door since they didn't trust either by itself to keep them safe. They talked quietly to each other for the most of the long night, both just happy to be with one another instead of sat alone.

When it all began, Haruka said that he was out buying mackerel in a shop when people outside started screaming and they had no idea whether to run back out in stay in the store. When people finally, understood what was going on outside they started screaming too. The shop went under panic and frantically some people, including Haruka, made their way into one of the back storage rooms and were stuck in there for a good few days, just waiting for everything to calm down outside. They had some food and Haruka took what he could while the chance was there. From there, he and the group separated and Haruka began to look for someone he knew. It was weeks and weeks until he found another living person, which was Makoto. The conversation went slightly silent after they'd finished their stories.

"Have you had to, you know.. kill any of them?" Makoto asked hesitantly. Haruka gazed over at him with a dull look in his ocean blue eye. He nodded slowly and went back to fiddling with the unraveled ends of his scarf that was still wrapped tightly around his neck.

"I'll never get used to it." He muttered. Makoto was glad that he felt the same and simply nodded in agreement. He'd never get to grips with any of this situation. Iwatobi was a completely dull town now infested with zombies and was nothing but sadness. Although the almost hopeless situation everyone in Iwatobi was in, Makoto felt like finding Haruka in that old building was the small beam of hope that he needed.

The two of them managed to sleep peacefully that night.

~~~

The next morning Makoto was woken up early as the beams of light from the small window hit his face. He was quick to get up and wake up his friend across from him, who he was glad was still there and wasn't a just a dream. The two of them ate a small snack of some biscuits and had a drink of water before they both finally decided to set out and leave the secure room they were cooped up in for the night. They both had an objective in mind now. Makoto needed to find his family and with Haruka's help they might have a chance to find their classmates too. Haruka's family was abroad, so for now they could concentrate on other things and luckily they didn't have to add more people on the list of people to find. After they crept around a few roads littered with dead bodies and zombies, they ended up on a empty road with many cracks in it. Luckily most of the zombies nearby can't sense them and are to busy bothered with crawling around in other dilapidated buildings.

Makoto had no idea where they've ended up since all he had done since the day he left his home was wander around without any sort of direction to where he was going. His only goal was to find his family and friends so he bluntly ignored every broken sign post and aimlessly made his way through the city; looking back on it, he felt that wasn't the best decision he made. Haruka had a map with him and if they could find somewhere recognisable they could pinpoint it on the map and then make their way to their first destination; the twin's school. Makoto was sure his parents would want him to find them before anything else and make sure they could be protected in this deadly situation. Haruka agreed so they began to wander.

The path they walked along was pretty empty but occasionally they had to sneak by a zombie or two. Makoto would still never get used to the pale skin and empty, white, soulless eyes they had. He focused just to not stare at them and ignored them as they snuck past them. Luckily, none of them ever paid any mind and continued to mindlessly crawl.

The road seemed to get more and more familiar as they made their way along and the two of them realised why as they suddenly came to the end of it and around a corner where a tall and broken building stood in front of them. It's walls had started to crumble but it still had done well at standing tall and strong. Plants over grew through the cracked path leading to the cracked glass doorway. A car still remained outside with it's windows smashed and it's doors dented and torn off. It was a place they knew well and visited all the time as children. Their old swim club. It was honestly a shame that after it'd gotten redone it had once again fallen back into shambles.

"Haven't seen this place for a while." Makoto let out what sounded like a small laugh mixed with a sigh. Seeing this building again only served to remind him about his life before all of this happened. "It's looking a bit worse for wear."

"Should we look inside?" Haru asked. There was the risk that there were only zombies in there, but then again, there might be another person in there too. Since the building wasn't too badly damaged, it was a good place to hide if you had sufficient supplies of food to live of for a while. It was worth a shot and Makoto nodded his head; the two of them snuck their way into the building.

It was a little bit dark, and the light from the windows only gave a little light as it battled its way through the layers of dust in the room. Eventually they made their way to the pool. It was slightly lighter with the roof windows being shattered and the dust being able to escape through the broken windows. Then there was the pool itself. It still remained the same colour of blue and the lines of the different lanes were also still visible; slightly, faded, but still there. The bottom of the pool, along with its walls, were cracked in many places and there was no water left in the pool at all, just a single dead body. It wasn't a nice change to say the least.

Next they made their way to the locker room and back out towards the entrance as they found no one was inside. Makoto was hoping for at least someone to be in there, but that was just wishful thinking to begin with. Glass crackled beneath Makoto's feet and he looked down to spot something familiar that he'd stood on. Bending down to pick it up and brush off the bits of broken glass, he held the old photo of when they swam their relay together. The flimsy paper was barely holding itself together but the image was still clear. Stood in the picture were all five of them; Haruka, Makoto, Rin, Nagisa and even Rei. Makoto smiled fondly at the photo; at least finding the photo was some solace in not finding a person.

"What is it?" Haruka asked from just in front of him. Makoto handed the photo to him and gave a slight smile.

"The photo of our relay." He gazed down at the floor where bits of glass and what looked to be other remnants of old photos lay. "It still survived through this." Haru looked at the photo with a somewhat melancholic expression.

"Do you think everyone else is okay?" He asked, his eyes still glued to the photo. He was lucky to have found Makoto but what about everyone else? Where they okay? He caught Makoto frown slightly before it turned back up into an unsure smile.

"I'm sure their fine!" He stepped forward, edging a little closer to Haru. "Nagisa and Rei are both persistent and I'm sure Rin will be with Gou." His words came out uneasy and Makoto wasn't sure it was reassuring at all as much as it was wishful thinking. Anything could of happened to them, they knew their friends being dead corpses or living corpses was a possibility but neither of them wanted to think that. In a situation like this, the outcome of their friends was unclear and they were just lucky to have found each other; it was pure chance.

"You don't mind if I keep this?" Haru asked, changing the subject. Makoto shook his head and Haru carefully folded the photo up and placed it into his bag. The two of them set off again out the building, wary of any zombies nearby, and used the map they has to help direct them to the twin's school. Hopefully it wouldn't be as empty as the old swim club.

Most of the roads on the way there were empty and desolate, but some places they had to be careful where there were zombies crawling in their way. It took them till sundown to finally make their way to the school. The sun cast an orange glow over everything and the sounds of moans and groans from the zombies increased as it began to get darker and they began to get more active.

The school had suffered just as much damage as everywhere else. It windows had been smashed and then boarded over scruffily with wood and sharp nails. The area felt just as quiet and empty as everywhere else, but the school looked safe enough to stay in. As the pair made their way to the door, wary of the rustles of bushes around them, when they tried to push it open, no matter how hard they tried it wouldn't budge. It was as if there was something barring it from the other side and that only sparked more hope.

It meant someone could be in there.

"How will we get in..?" Makoto mused. They could smash in one of the barred windows, but it was getting darker and any noise would instantly attract zombies. They were in a bad situation; with no backup plan of where to go or stay, their only option was to find a quiet way to get in the school, and that proved to be difficult on its own. 'We have to get in.' Makoto thought to himself.

"Makoto!" Hearing the shout from behind him, he swiftly spun around and was met with not just one pair of eyes, but a crowd. Haruka was slowly backing up until he was next to Makoto to get away from the figures slowly surrounding them. Their clothes were ripped, blood was scattered across their bodies pouring from assortments of cuts and bullet holes while their skin was a range of pale white and grey to sickly green; zombies.

After the initial shock, causing both of them to freeze up in fear, Makoto acted quickly, grabbing Haru by the wrist and tugging him into a run. They squeezed through the gap of space available for them to escape and ran around the side of the building. More zombies waiting there, all hearing the commotion and all sluggishly walking towards Haru and Makoto. They were stuck with their backs against the building, completely screwed; food for the zombies, not unless they acted fast.

"Haru, help me with this!" Makoto yelled, turning toward the window behind them and grabbing onto one of the wooden planks messily nailed to it. He pulled on it as hard as he could and when Haru added his strength too, they both started to feel it creak as the nails were forcibly pulled out. The wood was torn off, along with the next as quickly as they could, and they leaped through the window. To stop an overflow of zombies from crawling through, they used a bookshelf parked by the wall and dragged it across until it blocked off the window completely. The two boys took a moment to catch their breaths and let the panic sizzling in their chests die down.

That was until Makoto heard a click and felt something cold press against the back of his head.

"Stay still." A cold, rough voice said accompanied by a few other footsteps. Haruka tried to turn around to see what was happening but the end of a gun was pointed at him as well; he froze. It was dark in the room and the only thing Haru could see in front of him was vague outlines of about two people and the tip of the gun pointed right in his face; it was edged closer.

"Drop all your weapons!" The voice shouted. Makoto didn't hesitate and dropped the gun that was attached to his belt, along with his knife. They fell to the floor with a clack. Haruka was more hesitant. He felt the gun rise slightly to meet the temple of his head in between his eyes; the cold metal was pressed down hard. "Do it. Now!" The rough voice shouted again with urgency. Makoto glanced over at Haruka.

"Just do it Haru." He urged him. Footsteps shuffled around in front of him.

"Wait, Haru?" A new familiar voice called. A small moment of silence filled the room before the voice spoke out again. "Makoto, Haru, is that you?" Light suddenly appeared in the room from a flickery light from above them. The two figures were suddenly made clear and the guns were lowered. Makoto had instantly realised the voice and already felt tears in his eyes.

"Dad?!" Once his eyes met his father's face he was sure he was about to cry. His father looked to be about to do the same thing, but he still had a wide smile on his face as he ran forward and pulled both Haru and Makoto into a tight hug. Haru felt as if he was interrupting this father-son reunion, yet still he was glad, as if he was reuniting with his own father. The Tachibanas' were like his second family; they were always nice to him. He could hear both Makoto and his father trying to hold back their tears as they took in everything. They had found someone they knew; Makoto had found one of his family members.

"Who are these two Tachibana?" The husky voice interrupted them sharply and the hug was broken. Now the light was on, Haru and Makoto could see the man for themselves. He was wearing a leather jacket and a torn red shirt. His arm was bandaged over a part of his sleeve and his expression was slightly sour. He had cold grey eyes and stubble around his chin while his greying, overgrown hair was mostly covered by a deep red hat, the rest of his spiky hair poked out the sides. Mr. Tachibana turned around to face the man holding the gun.

"Don't worry, their not threat." He assured him. "It's my son and his friend." The man's expression didn't change and he didn't put away his gun but kept it lowered at the floor with his finger near the trigger.

"Check them for bites." He commanded, his scowl remaining on his features. Mr. Tachibana sighed but slowly nodded and turned back toward his son and his friend. After quickly checking the two weren't bitten, which they were not, he turned back to the man and he finally slung his rifle back around his shoulder before stepping toward Mr. Tachibana.

"They can stay, but they're your responsibility." He scowled. "They've broken our window and now we have to fix it, their food comes out of your rations." Only after Mr. Tachibana nodded did he finally walk away back out the room. Both Haru and Makoto felt a little bit guilty; they had just broken in. Mr. Tachibana turned around and smiled.

"I'm glad you two are okay.." He let out a sigh and motioned for them to follow him. "Here, follow me, we all stay in a room in the back." He began to walk out the room, letting Makoto grab his gun back before turning off the light and securely closing the door once everyone was out. Makoto shot his father a hesitant look as they began to walk off down the hall.

"Are you sure this is okay?" He asked. "We have our own food, you don't have to give us yours." His father just shook his head.

"Our food is probably better than yours, it'll be fine." He reassured them. Haru couldn't help think of how selflessness was passed down through the Tachibana line; Makoto was just like his father. "Have you two been doing okay?"

"We've been okay." Makoto answered. They had been doing alright, but what really counted as 'alright' in this kind of situation? They hadn't had problems with food or injuries (except the fall Makoto had) so far, so really they considered themselves lucky. "We found each other just a couple of days ago." His father nodded and gazed other to Haru.

"What about you Haru? Are you doing okay?" He asked with a warm smile, it was easy to tell where Makoto got his smile just by looking at him. Haruka nodded.

"I've been fine." He answered simply and Mr. Tachibana nodded at his short answer. Just as the conversation finished, they arrived at a closed door; Mr. Tachibana opened it and let Makoto and Haruka enter before himself. They both hesitantly answered. Before Makoto could even look up to examine the room, he heard two voices.

"Onii-Chan!!" Now Makoto was sure he was going to cry. Two small figures ran towards him and he knelt down to meet their level as they hugged him tightly. Ren and Ran; they were safe. He couldn't think of anything to say while he hugged his two younger twin siblings and felt an overwhelming relief and happiness rush through his body. Words couldn't describe how happy he felt. The twins were already crying out of happiness as they clung to Makoto, Haruka couldn't help but smile slightly at yet another happy reunion, even more so when the twins noticed him and hugged him too crying out "Haru-Onii-Chan!" Happily. They were like his siblings too and finding them here and knowing they were safe made both Haru and Makoto happy beyond belief. They were still the fun twins they always knew, seemingly unaffected by the horrors outside.

Mr. Tachibana watched over the scene with a smile on his face and closed the door as soon as everyone was through the it; the other unnamed man was sat polishing his gun with an old cloth rag with a bitter yet sad look on his face. It didn't look like anyone else was in the room, but there was a door leading to what looked to be a storage closet. The room they were already stood in was warm and they seemed to have a good setup here. Makoto couldn't see his mother anywhere in the room and felt panic spike in his chest, but as soon as he saw his father's warm smile or the twins' grins, the panic faded to the back of his mind and he convinced himself that if he found this much of his family now, he could also find his mother; she'd be fine.

Everyone would be okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I haven't uploaded in ages, I'm so sorry! I really wanted to upload this chapter quickly so I haven't checked it over properly for spelling mistakes. If you see any, please warn me! Thanks.  
> Btw, the OC I put in this story doesn't really have much significance, since I know people don't really like them. But, I might include him a bit later.  
> Anyway, thank you for reading!  
> Btw, if you see last chapters notes along with these notes, I'm not really sure how to fix that sorry! > <  
> If anyone could tell me how that'd be appreciated! Thanks


	3. Dream Or Reality?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were noises of wood cracking and breaking, a gunshot or two, the voices of Ryo and his father yelling, and worst of all he could hear the sound of the twins snivelling and whimpering in fear behind him. One sentence from Haru told him all he needed to know.
> 
> "They broke in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry it took forever to upload this next part, this is the kind of story that only gets updated every few months unfortunately! But I try to make the parts long! Today's actually my birthday so why not post some good ol' zombie stories right?  
> Anyway, I apologise in advance for what happens in this chapter ^^  
> Enjoy!

Ren and Ran's chests rose lightly as they peacefully slept. There was a small fire burning in the middle of the room giving off a deep yellowy-orange light. Makoto was sat on one side of the twins bed while Haru was sat on the other where they would be sleeping for the night, Mr. Tachibana was sat across from them while the grey haired man was still sat a small way away with his rifle on his lap.

"So dad.. You haven't seen mum anywhere?" Makoto asked the question he'd been itching to ask for a while. The worst possible answer could be that she was already dead; her being missing was better than dead, they could still find her that way. Mr. Tachibana gazed into the dancing flames of the fire.

"I haven't seen your mother since the morning that this all began." He let out a sigh with an almost desperate look in his eyes. "I want to try find her but―" he gazed over to the two sleeping twins. "―I can't leave these two here by themselves and I can't take them with me." He gazed back downwards.

"Maybe now that we're here we can go look for her! Then one of us can still look after the twins!" Makoto suggested optimistically but Mr. Tachibana shook his head.

"Is it because of him?" Haru asked glancing over to the grey-haired man still sat by the door with his gun clenched in his hands. He constantly looked on edge, ready for anything to happen and ready to react to it. Mr. Tachibana nodded.

"His name's Ryo Hayashi," he began, glancing over to Ryo. "He lost his daughter when this all began and he found the twins and I and saved us, he's looked after us so don't be too hard on him." The man, Ryo, either couldn't hear them or didn't care since he didn't tear his eyes from the door to glare over at them. His gaze remained cold.

"Why won't he let us out?" Makoto asked.

"He believes we'll be safe if we just stay here and don't alert the zombies that anyone is in here, but staying here won't accomplish anything." Mr Tachibana looked over at the other door in the room, Makoto and Haru had been told that was where they kept their food and the rest of their supplies. "We're running out of food, we can't stay here long." Before Makoto or Haru could add anything to the conversation, Mr, Tachibana smiled at them and began to speak again.

"Anyway, you two should get some sleep, I'm sure you haven't had a good nap for a while." He stood up and slung his rifle around his back. "We'll keep watch for tonight, so get some rest okay?" The two swimmers nodded and Mr. Tachibana went to sit by Ryo who didn't even seem to move or flinch at the movement.

Makoto shuffled down into his own bed with the twins―they'd begged to sleep with their older brother showing that, really, they hadn't changed much at all―while Haru got in his own bed set out next to Makoto's and the twin's. The blankets of the beds were old and had a weird smell to them, the kind that had been used a lot and hadn't been washed for a while, but it was better than the stone cold floor they'd been sleeping on every night. Everything was silent except for the crackling of the fire.

"Hey, Haru?" Makoto broke the silence and Haru glanced up to meet Makoto's green, yet slightly uneasy, gaze. Haru hummed in response. "Do you think everyone is okay? Do you think we'll find them..?" A small moment of silence passed before Haru opened his mouth to answer.

"We'll find them Makoto," he reassured him. "Now get some sleep," he finished softly and he saw Makoto smile slightly and nod.

"Thank you." Sleep came easy to the both of them.  
\---  
"Makoto, your mother says the food is ready."

Makoto's eyes opened to the sound of Haru's voice from in front of him. Instantly he was confused; this was how Haru normally looked. His face wasn't dirty from the time gone without a proper bath and his clothes weren't the ones he'd been wearing for presumably last month, he wasn't wearing his dark blue hat and scarf either. He was wearing one of Makoto's shirts, the orange and yellow one that was too big for him yet he still wore it every time he visited. Makoto blinked a few times and looked at his surroundings. He was in his room, sat on his bed in front of the TV with a controller in his hand; the TV showed a game he and Haru played often on the pause screen. Makoto rubbed his eyes yet still nothing changed when he reopened them.

"Makoto?" Haru called out his name again and Makoto looked back towards Haru's direction and quickly stood up, going along with what would be his normal routine.

"Ah, sorry I'm just a little tired," he quickly blurted out an excuse and moved towards the door to go downstairs with Haru. It was a little confusing, but Makoto just assumed he'd been day dreaming the whole time. Zombies, the apocalypse, it was all just stupid nonsense he'd dreamt up. He and Haru made their way downstairs and as soon as they entered, Makoto felt two pairs of arms attach themselves to his waist. Looking down he saw Ren and Ran with their same old grins plastered on their faces.

"Onii-Chan! Come sit down, mum made green curry!" Ren smiled.

"Your favourite!" Ran added on with excitement. They were always full of energy even if it was just for something like eating food around the dinner table.

"Alright then, let's go sit down." He gave them a smile back and patiently let them drag him over to his chair at the table. His father was sat down already while his mother was placing dishes on the table for everyone. His mother; it felt like he hadn't seen her in a month but that had been all a dream, she was fine and Makoto had nothing to worry about, yet still seeing her calm and warm smile soothed the anxiety in his chest. Haru took a seat next to Makoto while the twins sat opposite them, cutlery in hands ready for their food.

It was just like every other dinner. They'd all around the table and talk, laugh and smile like a proper family. Everyone was happy, and no weird dream was going to stop Makoto from enjoying time with his family; soon enough it'd fade into the back of his mind and he'd forget it by tomorrow.

"Makoto." He heard Haru say from next to him. Makoto swallowed the food in his mouth and gave a hum in response, but Haru didn't say anything further. "Makoto." He repeated his name and this time Makoto turned around to face him and met his blue eyes with his own green orbs.

"Is something wrong Haru?" He asked, hoping his friend would say something further this time. Something was wrong though, and Makoto instantly noticed. He couldn't hear the rest of his family anymore and when he gazed over to them, they were all frozen in place like they were part of a movie scene that had been paused. Only Haru and Makoto were able to move. They began to go blurry and before Makoto could say another word the whole image distorted and started to fade to black accompanied by another shout.

"Makoto!" Suddenly Makoto opened his eyes again and the first thing he saw was Haru just above him; this time, it wasn't the one wearing the yellow and orange shirt with a calm and collected expression on his face, he had a slight panicked look painted on his features. Makoto could hear the moaning and groaning of zombies and he quickly realised he'd been dreaming; a good dream, one he didn't want to leave, what he came back to was the nightmare.

The whole thing hadn't been something he'd daydreamed, and what he thought was reality was the dream. His heart dropped but he tried to ignore it as he sat up and took on the surrounding noises. There were noises of wood cracking and breaking, a gunshot or two, the voices of Ryo and his father yelling, and worst of all he could hear the sound of the twins snivelling and whimpering in fear behind him. One sentence from Haru told him all he needed to know.

"They broke in." Haru looked like he'd just been woken up as well, with his hair scruffier than usual and the deep blue hat he wore messily placed upon his head. "Your dad and Mr. Hayashi are trying to stop too many from getting in but it sounds like the whole bookshelf that was used as a barrier is gone." Makoto quickly shot to his feet and tried to ignore the tiredness that racked his body.

"Then we have to go help them! They'll be far too many for them to handle!" Makoto went to leave but Haru quickly caught his arm.

"No, we have to stay here and look after the twins," Haru reminded him, glancing over to the two trembling figured hidden under the covers of the beds. Makoto shook his head to clear his thoughts. How could he of been so forgetful!? He was their older brother, he had to look after them! He tried to shake the dream he'd had from his head and went to scoop the twins in his protective arms. He hugged them tight and tried to get their trembling to cease.

"It's okay.. We'll be okay.." He repeated in a soft whisper over and over again to them. He knew he wasn't just helping them but also trying to convince himself right now. He'd never been in this situation before and had only encountered a few times he had to kill a zombie, but he was on his own then, now he had Haru and his family to worry about and one of those family members was risking his life to protect them. "Dad will be just fine, he'll get rid of the zombies..." He told the twins but while all they could hear was crashing, gunshots and violent moaning, the reassurance did little to nothing. Makoto had his gun close by him right at his feet while Haruka was staring intently at the door with his gun in hand.

Suddenly the door was flung open again and both Mr. Tachibana and Ryo piled into the room, slamming the door shut behind them and holding it closed with their backs against it. Mr. Tachibana is the first to speak.

"We couldn't stop them, they've broken through." He began. "We're going to have to get out of here." He breathed in and out heavily as he tried to regain his breath. Ryo edged one of the heavy storage crates that were in the room and wedged it in front of the door to jam it closed, the he turned his sharp, icy gaze to Makoto and Haruka.

"This is all your fucking fault!" He yelled crudely making the twins both jump in fright in shrivel up further into their big brother's arms. Ryo didn't seem to care though and continued with his shouting. "If you hadn't have broken that window then this never would've happened! If we die, it's all your damn fault!" He finished harshly and both Makoto and Haru felt guilt sink into their minds. They really could die here, and if they did then it'd be them to blame for it.

"Ryo just calm down." Mr. Tachibana quickly took hold of the situation and cut in with his serious, yet calm, voice. "We need to find a way out of here, so stop shouting and make yourself useful." Ryo grit his teeth, but after grumbling a few curses under his breath, he began to grab his belongings. Makoto tried to ignore the guilt growing in his gut and reassured his two younger siblings they'd get out of this safely, he then grabbed his bag and gun too.

The six of them stood in a group in the middle of the room, Makoto holding Ran's hand tightly while Haruka looked after Ren, Mr. Tachibana quickly explained what they were going to do.

"We can still get through the storage door, it has a passageway that leads back to the front entrance, so deliveries of food were able to be packed away quickly." He explained. "Make sure you've got what you need." All of them nodded and they made their way into the storage room just as the box blocking the door began to crack and the door flew open letting in a hoard of zombies, clawing at anything they could. "Move! Hurry up!" Mr. Tachibana was the last through the door and closed it as everyone else ran through the passage way. Makoto could hear gunshots behind him, but he knew he couldn't looked back, he just had to keep running. His grip around Ran's hand tightened; his dad was trusting him to keep his siblings safe and he wasn't about to let him down. He wasn't going to fail as an older brother.

They finally made it out of the passage way and just as Mr. Tachibana had said, the entrance was right there. It was boarded and Ryo quickly tore of the wooden boards and kicked the doors open; he wasted no time running out into the forest by himself and Makoto convinced himself to just let him run, he wasn't anyone special to him anyway and he could survive on his own. Makoto and Haru made their way outside the building, with Ren and Ran both next to them. Makoto turned around to hopefully see his father next to him as well, but his father was still inside. He was fighting off a zombie that had attached itself to his gun and he just about managed to kick the it off; following that zombie were many others and he no longer had a gun to fight with as a zombie claw it away from his hands. Mr. Tachibana made it up to the doors but stopped before running through them. Makoto caught his father's eyes as he fought off the zombies when he suddenly smiled; Makoto instantly felt uneasy and sick. The doors slammed shut and he saw his father mouth something to him.

'Look after everyone.'

Then through the glass doors, Makoto saw everything horrifically unfold. He hugged Ran close to his chest and covered her eyes and ears while Haru did the same with Ren, but Makoto couldn't tear his eyes from the glass windows of the doors as he saw a zombie bite into his father's throat and rip it open. He could hear his father scream and cry as blood sprayed everywhere and splashed against the windows. The other zombies bit into the rest of his body and it convulsed till it ceased to function and fell limp to the ground for the zombies to claw at and feast on, leaving nothing behind; Makoto didn't even register Haruka shouting his name and tugging him away from the scene. His feet where moving, but he couldn't feel anything; Haru was shouting but Makoto could only hear the repeated screams of his father that had already died down. His head felt light and he felt he might collapse any minute, so he allowed himself to be dragged along by Haru and made sure neither Ren or Ran looked back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very mean wow  
> I did write this story because I often like sad plots were a lot of the characters are just killed off! But good things will also happen, promise!  
> I hope you enjoyed, it'll probably be a while till the next chapter is written and posted, but I hope these are all worth the wait!  
> Thanks for reading, and all comments and favourites are appreciated!


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